Erica: MIA
by Violetrose25
Summary: Sequel to "Erica Northman." Erica, now a secret agent, has not contacted her family in months. Now she is officially MIA. How will Eric and Sookie react? Will they ever find out what has happened to their beloved daughter? (I own nothing! Rated T for language and Eric being his threatening self. Review and enjoy!)
1. Missing

Sookie POV:

"She hasn't called in months! Normally, Erica would try to contact Eric and I every couple of weeks. Do you think she's okay?" I asked Sam, pacing across the floor of the bar. "Sook, I'm sure she's okay. She is a secret agent, she probably has a mission that she can't tell you about or something. Erica's gotta be busy. Besides, she's a grown woman. Everyone in town knows she can handle herself." Sam tried to be reasurring. But sadly, nothing was helping. Bless his heart, he tried. My only baby wasn't contacting us, and it had been a little over six months. Nothing anyone could say would dispell my worry. I had been worrying a lot these days. It was probably doing a number on my mental health. "Maybe I'm just paranoid. Am I?" Sam smiled slightly. "Nah Sook. You have a lot of crap to deal with. Your daughter a scientist/secret agent, it is nerve wracking. Hell, I'm impressed that you are as composed as you are. If it were me I'd probably have been sent to the looney bin by now." Ah Sam, still such a loyal friend. Even with his age setting in, while I stay the same. It took a few years for anyone to notice, considering I still walked in the sun and ate. All that just made me think more of Erica.

She had made me what I was today. Tears were threatening to fill my eyes, but I blinked them back furiously. Sam was bothered that he still wasn't helping. So he gave me a hug. Stroking my hair, he whispered: "Now don't start crying. Come on, just take a seat and I'll make you some dinner. It's pretty late, anyways. Some food will do you good." I nodded as I tried to think. _Everything is okay. Erica is fine. Nothing to worry about. _I spent about 45 minutes thinking those statements before I even began to believe them. Sam inturrupted my thoughts with a plate. On it was a cheeseburger, and a rediculous amount of fries. "You think a butload of fries is gonna solve all my problems?" I asked teasingly. "Who knows. French fries can do anything." I shook my head. Same old Sam Merlotte.

Just as I was starting to feel better, my phone rang. It was after dark, and the caller ID said "Eric." I had a bad feeling in my gut. "Hi honey, what's up?" I greeted. "Sookie, you need to come home right now. I just got some news on Erica's whereabouts." My heart jumped in my chest. "Oh my god! Is she alright?" There was a cold silence. Never a good sign. "Sookie, I think it's best if you come home for this. Over the phone jsut isen't appropriate." "Alright. I love you, Eric." "I love you too, Sookie. See you soon." He said and hung up. "What did Eric want?" Sam asked. "He said he got some news on Erica. Sam, I'm gonna need to go home." He nodded. "Thank you so much." I exlaimed and headed for home. There was a knot in the pit of my stomach. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

I stared at the plain paper. Just plain in black and white. "MIA." I repeated again. The very words made me light headed, but applied to my own daughter... I was gonna be sick. Every horrible image flittered through my head. Kidnappings. Beating. Her body buried in a shallow grave, or in the ocean. My baby. Oh this... this was just too much for me. In the back I heard Eric sceam into his phone. There was a number for the agency Erica worked for, and Eric called it as soon as I had gotten home. I barely paid attention, though knowing Eric somebody was getting a death threat. My mind was spinning. This couldn't be happening. This was a nightmare. But yet I wasn't waking up. My god, the drama was never going to end, was it?


	2. Death Threats

Eric POV:

My wife was leaning over the kitchen table, looking physically ill from what she was seeing. I felt the same way. Erica was my one and only child (aside from Pam). Erica was a miracle in every sense of the word. The day she was born, I swore to whatever god there was that I'd protect my baby. No way in hell was I going to let this shit fly. I waited for whoever to answer, when a deep voice greeted me. "Hello Mr. Northman. We were expecting you to call." Expecting my call, huh? "If that's true, then I suppose you know why I'm calling." "Yes. And we deeply regret to inform you that..." "Listen, don't even give me that bullshit. I demand to know what happened to my daughter." "Mr. Northman, we just don't know what happened. That's why there is such a thing as an MIA notice. If we knew where she was, we wouldn't be sending that to you." The man was being a condescending dick at a time like this? Big mistake. Deadly mistake.

"Listen, I don't know who you are but I swear to god that I will hunt you down..." He interrupted me. "We understand how you feel. We truly do. But there is nothing we can do about your situation." "You don't know a thing about HOW I FEEL. Understand that? Also, I find it highly suspicious that you people just let a genetic marvel like Erica go missing in the first place. You'd think that anyone would do everything in their power to protect the only vampire-human child in existance. How do I know you yoursleves had a hand in her dissapearance?" I heard an irritated sigh. "Look, we didn't do a thing to Erica. We simply lost contact with her during a mission..." "And how the hell did that happen?" I asked. "We were in Russia. The weather was awful, we lost communication during a storm." My ass. "You expect me to believe that a little snow made you lose my daughter? I've lived a thousand years and have seen every weather condition imaginable. Even in my time, we could find a lost soldier in a snowstorm. With the technology we have nowadays, I don't think it would be that hard to find a girl with all that satilite tracking on her. You can't fool me."

There was silence. It lasted a few minutes before the man spoke. "I'm sorry. We searched everywhere for her, we truly did. She... jsut... she was gone. No trace." That tone of voice was that of a liar. "You think my daughter just dissapeared off of the face of the Earth?! What sort of dumbass do you take me for?!" By this time I was screaming. This runaround routine was getting old fast. "We can't help you. If we couldn't find her... you have no chance of finding her. We looked for two whole months before even considering an MIA notice. The chances of discovering her wherabouts is next to impossible. I'm sorry." "No you're not." I spat. "You bastards just let a 19 girl prowl around Russian forests and left her there. If you didn't make that story up, then that's what happened. You left her to die because of what she is. That's it. I don't care if it takes another thousand years, I will hunt down every last individual who was involved and painfully force them to tell me where my child is." Another sigh.

"Even if you do that, it's still no use. She's gone. Accept it." I clenched my jaw. "If you heartless demons won't retrieve Erica, then I sure as hell will." "Mr. Northman, it is impossible..." "DON'T FUCKING TELL ME IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I KNOW AT LEAST 20 SKILLED PEOPLE WHO WILL HUNT HER DOWN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!" I shouted. "You'll still never find her." I scowled. "If I can't find her, then I garantee that I will find _you._" I threatened and hung up.

Sookie was still frozen, staring at the paper. I walked to her. "Sookie, darling, you should go lay down. You don't look well. And I have a lot of phone calls to make." She nodded and let me escort her upstairs. Poor Sookie, the knews was devastating enough to turn her into a damn zombie. Those bastards would pay if I didn't find her. Even if I did. One hair on her head harmed, and I was out for blood. But I had to find her first. Once Sookie was settled into her bed, I gave her a light kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry, Sookie. I will take care of this." She smiled. As soon as she was asleep, I went to Bill's. He loved my Erica as much as we did, so I knew he'd assist us. When I got there, Bill was eye deep in paperwork. "Eric, what brings you here tonight?" He asked politely. "Erica is missing. Put that bullshit paperwork up. We have _real _work to do." Bill nodded, and we set out on our mission.


	3. Heartbreaking Letter

Sookie POV:

Eric and Bill have been working nonstop for almost two weeks. Sadly, all they've uncovered is that the only Eastern country Erica was in was Germany. They even went to where she was reported seen, and all anyone was willing to tell them was something about her saving them from "a green devil." What the hell could they have been talking about? What happened to my baby? Eric and Bill went to New York to talk to Erica's employer, this Stark guy. He was sticking to the Russia story. But the man did say something about "having no control over what happened" and "she didn't deserve this." Of course if those were hints, they weren't very good ones.

I sighed. This was all too much. Everything that had been found out was still leading us nowhere. Eric was half crazy trying to chase after her trail. Somehow that secret agency was keeping a lot of information from us. I supppose that's normal. They are a _secret agency_. I was sitting on my bed, massaging my temples. I needed some coffee.

By now it was mid November, and it was getting chilly outside. I made sure I bundled myself up in a warm robe before I headed to the kitchen. Erica would have loved this weather. She was always a winter person, unlike everyone else I knew. The cold made me miss her more. It was torture. When I entered the kitchen, I found something sitting on the table. Something that wasn't there the night before. plain brown evelope.

What on Earth was this doing here? Did Eric put it there after I went to bed? I picked it up. There were no words on the outside. No return adrress. Nothing. In my experience, anything this mysterious should be left alone until somebody could properly deal with it. But for whatever reason, I opened it anyway. Inside was a piece of paper. It read:

_ Dear Family and Friends:_

_By now you must have recieved the MIA notice. I know you must be very upset, and are probably wondering how this letter even reached you if I'm missing. All I can tell you is that I had a friend who owed me a debt. Nothing more. _

For a moment I stopped reading. That... that was Erica's handwriting! Oh my god, she wrote us a letter! Maybe she's telling us when she's coming home! I kept reading.

_I can assume that it is you, mom, who has found this. I gave specific instructions that this be delivered when everyone was gone, or asleep so that this was to be found in the morning. So good morning, mom! I miss you and everyone terribly. Sadly... this letter is not a cheerful one. I wanted you all to have some closure, I couldn't live with myself if I never said goodbye. And due to circumstances I am not at liberty to explain, this was the only way to do it._

Goodbye? GOODBYE?! What did she mean? Was she coming home? What in the name of god happened?

_So I have taken the liberty of giving everyone a perosnalized goodbye. Mom, I emplore you let everyone mentioned read what I have written. _

_To My friends Mikey, Perry, Tommy, and Jericko:_

_You have made my childhood a blessing. I will always remember you guys, as I know you will me. Though I regret that I can't thank you in person, here it goes: Thank you for every memory, fun time, and all of the support I needed. Please lead the best lives you can lead. I love you guys. - Erica _

_To Aunts Pam & Tara:_

_You two were always the most fun of my aunts. You guys could cheer me up when I was down, and for that I am grateful. Not to mention you've raised one hell of a singer. Take care of Melody, just as you've always done. Love you. -Erica_

_To Uncle Jason and Aunt Jessica:_

_Uncle Jason, you may be a little clueless at times, but you were always as sweet a man as there was. I miss you a lot. Aunt Jessica, we never may have been that close, but you are still a kind hearted woman. Josie has grown into one of the sweetest girls on the planet. You both should be proud. I love you both - Erica_

_To Uncle Bill:_

_Just because I'm gone, dosen't mean that you are free to persue my mom. I'll be watching you from** up here**. Love you - Erica _

_To Aunt Nora:_

_You were the one I was closest to. You always could figure me out, even when I couldn't figure out myself. A long time ago, you told me something. something I dismissed and brushed off as nonsense. Though you might not be clear as to what I'm talking about, just remember this: You were right. About everything. I owe you an apology. I will miss you forever. Take care. I love you, aunty Nora. - Erica_

_To Melody:_

_We all have destinies. Josie's lies in fashion. Mine in a **dream.** Yours is in music. Follow your passion, Melody. We all believe in you. Love you. - Erica_

_To Josie:_

_My sweet little redhead. God I'm going to miss you. Please don't cry for me, I promise you I'm alright. In fact, you might even be jealous if I could explain. But since you've always called me this and I told you not to, I am giving you permission now. It is now perfectly okay if call me Princess Erica. Good luck, I love you gingersnap. -Erica_

_Finally, To my parents. I wanted to do this last because you two are the most important people in my life. So here it goes:_

_Mom, I know our relationship was rocky. But I love you. Never forget that I love you, no matter how rough things have gotten. My deepest regret is never giving you what I should be able to. You'll never see me walk down the isle, never see me hold your grandchild. I'll never bring home a boyfriend, or a husband. Hell, you've never even seen me wear a dress. The reason you'll never see these things is not because they won't happen (aside from the grandchild, which saddens me to my core), it is because... well, I'm never coming home. It's not out of anger, not because I don't want to return home. I can't. And believe me when I say it's for the good of everyone that I don't return. And I do mean EVERYONE. Please find it in your heart to forgive me. I love you, I truly do. Don't blame yourself, don't worry for me. Goodbye mama. _

_Dad, you have been the greatest father a child could wish for. You accepted me for who I was, killer, scientist, your daughter. You have given me everything. For all of these things I thank you. And why I insist you don't look for me. Please, you won't find me anywhere in **this** world. Just let me go, and live you're life. I'd hate to think of my dad wasting another thousand years on such a hopeless venture. Especially for mama's sake. She needs you. Take care of her. And yourself. With my final words, I say this to you:_

_Don't go chasing** rainbows**. I will never return. Don't you blame yourself either. I know how you think dad. That's why everyone said I was a daddy's girl. I will miss you. I love you so much dad._

_So to Everyone I know, I say goodbye. Forever. _

_With much love, ERICA CLAUDINE NORTHMAN. _

I was crying so hard at this point. My heart hurt. My stomach turned. My world was shattered. My baby was gone forever.


	4. Clues

Eric POV:

I stared at the letter. Just stared. Every goodbye was a dagger in my heart. And there was something about the way she wrote it... it sounded off. Up here? Rainbows? Princess? Dream? THIS world? "I think she's trying to tell us something." Sookie glared at me. "Yes! She's_ telling_ us goodbye forever! I swear to god Eric..." "No, no. Look at this." "I've spent all day looking at it. I think if see it one more time I'll gouge my eyes out." Poor Sookie. She was too blinded by grief to look further into what the letter said. "Sookie, I mean look at how she wrote. The words she emphasized. Not to mention the phrases she used. What could Erica have meant when she wrote "I'll be watching... UP HERE! Where is 'up here'? And since when does our daughter use the phrase 'don't go chasing rainbows?' That's not how our girl writes. Not to mention that I highly doubt Erica would ever give Josie permission to call her princess without a reason."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "The reason is that she wants Josie to not feel like she's forbidden from remembering her by the name she always called her. It's sentiment. By 'up here' she probably means something about an omnipitance. Surounding us, like she's always around us. Her being sweet. The rainbows thing was Erica expanding her previos vocabulary for such things. Instead of "don't waste your breath" and "stop trying, you idiots." Eric, like the letter said, just let her go. Stop reading into things that aren't there. That isn't what she would have wanted." How can I describe outrage to her willingness to let her go? Our child, our lives were poured into a single being, and now she's gone. And that letter wasn't just a goodbye letter. Those were clues. Despite my wife's pleas, I would decifer these if it takes the rest of eternity. "You were right. About everything." She had written to her aunt, my sister. I knew just where to start.

"Sookie, I have to find my sister. She might hold the key to one of Erica's clues. You take care of informing everyone else." "Eric, I'm begging you, don't do this. For my sake, please just let her go." Sookie looked afraid. I held her, and kissed her softly. "I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't. If there is one thing in this world I will fight for, it's my family. Now you just do whatever you can to make yourself feel better. I'll be back soon." Sookie nodded in sad reluctance as I walked out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took me two days to track Nora down in England. She had been living in a small rural town outide of Liverpool. For a moment I reflected on what a stupid name that was. But as soon as I found her adress, I knocked. "Hell- Eric! What are you doing here? What a nice surprise." I sighed, my lifeless breath tinting the air white. "Erica is missing. I need your help." Nora looked shocked. Erica was her niece, and she loved her dearly. They had always been close, I knew she would be able to assist me. "OH MY GOD! Sinc when? What happened?" " It was an MIA notice. About two weeks ago. I apologize for not telling you immediatly, but my time was spent on locating her. Now Sookie and recieved this letter, a letter from her." "How can she send that if she's MIA?" Nora asked. "She wrote that she had an old friend deliver it. There are some vague clues that she put in here, and one of them pertains to something you two discussed. Help me figure this out, please." She nodded and invited me in.

The apartment was small, but decorated with lovely contemporary furnishings. I sank into a white leather couch and got out the letter. "What exactly did she write about me?" "She wrote everyone a pesonalized goodbye. This is yours." Nora read it, tears filling her eyes. "She's never coming back?" "That's what she's saying, yes. But what do you think she is talking about? Right about what?" Nora shook her head, chocolate brown hair bouncing with her face. "She won't even mention a particular year! I cannot possibly extract some individual conversation that is supposed to have a particular me-" She paused. "What?" "There was one conversation we had that was one of the deepest. She told me I was crazy for thinking what I did. She was sixteen, and I had the rare oppritunity to visit. We went to the mall and we were talking about... No. No that can't be." "What? What was it about?" "Love." Nora breathed out. "Love. Erica went MIA, the agency she works for has been covering things up, all because Erica found a lover?" I shook my head.

"Come on, that can't be right!" "No, I am positive. That was one of the few things we disagreed on. The only other things were movie preferences and favorite cars." "So she's saying she's wrong about her views on love?" Nora thought. "It was about love finding her. Maybe it's not a lover, but somebody who is obsessed with her." "That still doesn't add up. Why would they cover up what really happened over that?" Nora seemed struck with inspiration. "A powerful obsessed person could have black mailed this agency with something. Maybe this person had the upper hand, and Erica was what they wanted. They had to give in because of whatever threat they posed. So they waited a little to send the MIA, to make it seem like they were looking for her." "Why would they not have done everything in their power to not let that happen?" Nora shook her head. "The threat may have been too great. More valuable than one girl. Perhaps to them, it was best for everyone to..." I paused her.

"Everyone. That was another of her clues. She said her leaving was best for everyone. And I do mean EVERYONE." Nora smiled a little. "God she's clever. She must have known we'd figure some of this out." "Okay. So we think we know what happened and why. But some of these other things... what could they mean?" Nora looked to the clues I was pointing at. "Princess. Maybe that was what this sicko thought of her as." "Plausible theory. But what about 'up here', 'this world' and 'rainbows?' What could that mean?" Nora thought for a minute. "I think she's trying to tell us _where_ she is."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS STORY IS FURTHER AHEAD THAN WHAT I'VE WRITTEN ON ERICA'S SIDE. I WANTED TO DO A STORY ABOUT ERIC AND SOOKIE GETTING THE LETTER AND MIA NOTICE A FEW MONTHS AFTER SHE LEFT. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THEM _TRYING_ TO FIGURE OUT HER LOCATION. KEY WORD IS _TRYING_.


	5. Among the Stars

"So, rainbows? Let's start with that. What could that mean?" Nora asked. "I don't know, honestly." "Well think. She's trying to leave hidden messages. Messages with meaning. Did you two ever have some experience with rainbows?" I shook my head. "No. She's never shown a particular fondness for them." Nora thought. "Well, she did say something about about a different world. Perhaps a fae has taken interest in her and brought her back to their world. That would explain the different worlds. Possibly the whole rainbow comment as well, they do have rainbow light that shoots out of their hands."

It didn't take me long to respond. "No. The fae would never risk it. A half-vampire still has vampiric urges." "Good point." We sat debating different options for a while. Maybe something about a parallel dimension. That was just ridiculous. Aliens? The only aliens we knew of were fae, so that theory was dismissed. "Come on, Eric, think! Did you ever say anything to Erica about rainbows? Like a path to leprachans? Light refraction? SOMETHING!" I simply couldn't remember anything... until. "Wait. I used to tell her Norse fairytales when she was little. She loved hearing them, and it really bonded us. In most of the stories... there was mention of a rainbow _bridge._" Nora looked up from the letter.

"Maybe it's a metaphor. A bridge. But a bridge to where?" She inquired. "Well, it supposedly led to the home of the Norse gods. One of the many worlds in mythology." Hold on. Worlds? "She said something about a different world, right?" I silently nodded. Nora grabbed my shoulders. "Eric, where was this world located?" I felt a sudden realization. "Among the stars." Nora and I stared at one another for several minutes. "Did Erica ever dream of this place?" "Almost every night. She told me about how she was a warrior there... fighting alongside the gods." Nora and I had the exact same thought in mind.

"You don't think..." We looked out the window of her apartment. Up at the twinklng stars. "I- I think so." I studdered. "Well if she's up there..."Nora started. "And a Norse god has kidnapped her..." I continued. I fell to my knees. "We're really are never going to see her again, are we?" I tried to be hopeful. But not an ancient vampire could survive a trek through space, let alone an attack on the gods. I came to my resolve. "No." "Should we tell Sookie?" I shook my head. "How do you think she'd take the already troubling news she's gotten... combined with the fact that she is somewhere even I could never reach?" Nora sighed. "Best we keep this one to ourselves?" I nodded. "Goodbye, Erica. I love you." I whispered to the stars, where somewhere, she was out there.

AUTHORS NOTE: HA HA! I ONLY LED EVERYONE TO BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE SHE WAS! THEY DID. NOW IT SEEMS ALL HOPE IS LOST. BUT... THERE WILL BE ONE MORE STORY. AND YOU'LL NEVER GUESS THE TRUE SURPRISES IN STORE. THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IN THE CONCUSION. :)


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